Government Grants For College
Grants for college, who doens't need one. With the cost of a college education always rising everyone wants one (and need them) these days. No wonder why they are so popular. The good thing is government grants for college's budgets have been increased recently. Most college grants are awared based on family income or scholar performance.
You can divide grants based on income or academic success. If your family have a low income the chance are very good you are eligible to some grants. The other types of education grants are offered based on the student academic merits for your excellence.
College grants for low income
If you or your family has what's considered a low income you should be eligible to some of these grants. The main one, and probably best knowed one is the PELL grant. Pell grants are offered to undergraduates and the amount awared is based on your college cost, family income and whether you're studying part or full time. The 2 other sources of grants given based on income are state college grants and your college may also offer grants to students who can't meet the college cost.
College grants awared for academics success
The second most common form of grants for college are those offered for acadamic success or studying in some programs considered sensitive. Among the names you may have heard are the Academic Competitivness Grant given for the first 2 years of a 4 year program. The National Smart Grants are given to third and fourth year student majoring in math, science, technology, engineering and some languages.
Student college loans
Once you have gather all the grants for college you can and you are still missing money the second best option are college loans. There are many loans available from the Federal government; Perkins, Stafford and PLUS loans (parent and students). State college education departments are almost always offering college loans so make sure you also look in this direction. Finally, if you still need money to complete your year most major banks are also offering loans for students.
As a rule of thumb you should start by getting grants for college first (based on income or academic success), college loans and in last resort a student loan from a bank. You want to take these in this order as they go from being free (grants) to be the most expensive (bank's loan).
Finally you should always start by filling your FAFSA form and visiting your college financial aid office. These last are usually the best equipped to help you find money for your college and help you filling the required paper work.
Going through all these hoops can be a pain but the benefits of a better future far outweight the pain of dealing with grants for college and financial aid forms. Just persevere and good luck!
